Lily Ann Potter: Sister Slytherin
by HiddenReaderNinja
Summary: Harry Potter is the Boy-Who-Lived, but he's not the only one to have survived that night. Harry and Lily Ann both grew up with the Dursleys, however, their experience growing up was vastly different and has given them very different opinions about what magic means. ON HIATUS, not abandoned
1. Godric's Hollow

**A/N: Well here I am. For those of you who don't know me, probably most of you, I am HiddenReaderNinja, and I love Harry Potter.**

 **I started writing this story, almost 5 years ago to the day. I posted it here, and life happened. If it seems like you have read this before, that is because you quite possibly have. I have since deleted my original story, and am in the processes of reposting it now. It has been nearly four years since any changes have been made by me on my story, a hiatus that I never expected to happen. But now I am back, hopefully to stay. I'm have revisited my old chapters and fixed them, addressing any of the problems, typos, character flaws, and changes in writing style that may have happened since I last wrote here. Though most of what I have written has been left untouched, I hope you enjoy my revamping of my very first FanFic story, and hope you'll help me along the way as I try to stay involved with this story. I currently have seven chapters written, and will be posting three today and two tomorrow. Chapters 6 and 7 will then follow, hopefully at the same time as chapter 8. After that, I have no set calendar as to how I will be posting.**

 **Disclamer:**

 **I, HiddenReaderNinja am not JK Rowling and never have been and never will be. If I were, I'd have a really cool accent and an awesome movie deal. Harry Potter is just out of my reach...**

Chapter 1: Godric's Hollow

Godric's Hollow was a place known for its holiday fun, and today being Halloween was no different. Pumpkins lined the street corners, and children scampered around the streets dressed up from everything between witches and wizards, to knights and princesses, to doctors and firemen. The street carnival had, by the looks of it, attracted the entire village out to bob for apples, play carnival games, and of course, journey through the haunted house.

A tall, hooded man walked through the crowd, not joining in the festivities. He only paused momentarily to sneer disdainfully at the magician, who was entertaining a group of children with his card tricks. Leaving behind the excited crowd, the Dark Lord walked steadily with one purpose in mind – the Potters. After these many months, he would finally bring down the great Potters. They had defied him for the last time.

And there it was. The Dark Lord laughed to himself as he approached his kill. How diligently they had tried to keep themselves from him, going so far as to hide here amongst the muggles and muggle-lovers; it must've been the Mudblood's idea.

But no matter. No one could hide from the Dark Lord – they could only delay the inevitable, and now even that was right at their door, which he blasted off its hinges with a flick of his wand.

Yells and shouts ensued, and the Dark Lord reveled in havoc he wreaked.

"He's here! Lily, take the twins and go!" shouted James as he frantically searched for his wand, all while attempting to block Voldemort from his wife.

"You're a traitor to your kind, Potter. We need wizards like you – with blood pure and true. Join us, and all shall be forgiven."

James bristled at the threat, and stiffened in resolve.

"I'd rather die." He declared, and threw himself at Voldemort, but immediately found himself pinned against the wall by the force of Voldemort's wand.

"You think that mere force will stop me, Potter?" breathed Voldemort. "Do you think to defeat me without even a wand to defend yourself?"

"Perhaps not. But at least I'll die protecting those I love."

"Then you die in vain!" he hissed, and with a flash of green light, James Potter crumpled to the ground, his glasses askew and messy hair ruffled even further in death.

Lily Potter had barricaded herself in the upstairs nursery when she heard Voldemort blast aside the debris in front of the door. Kissing her children for what she knew would be the last time, she brushed away the tears that had begun to fall and turned around. Refusing to step away from her children as he demanded, the last thing she saw before life left her was a flash of green light.

Voldemort turned from the body that now lay at his feet and surveyed the two small children who were sitting in the crib. The boy watched him curiously, having seen few strangers in his young lifetime. The girl, whose red hair mirrored her mother's, looked somber. Sneering at the pair of them, Voldemort pointed his wand at the boy, who began to whimper in fright. This was the big moment.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The world seemed to explode and the air was filled with screams. Not only the screams of the babies in the crib, but another, unearthly noise that seemed to consume all other sounds until it vanished in a whirlwind. A deathly silence filled the air and the only things remaining in the room were two whimpering children, a crumbling roof, and the figure of a young mother, never to reawaken from her slumber.

As the villagers of Godric's Hollow, began to investigate the source of the disturbance that had ruined their Halloween fun, no one knew how truly extraordinary the events unfolding were. No one knew that for Harry and Lily Ann Potter, the story was only beginning.

 **Please note, the first few chapters are pretty short. If this is a turn off for you, just know that they do get longer.**

 **Hope y'all liked it. Good? Bad? Ideas? Please review!**


	2. Ten Year's Later

**A/N: When I previously published this chapter, I had a question as to what tarantulas had to do with snakes. I have never been to the London Zoo before, nor most others, but the ones I have been to have all kept their reptiles, amphibians, and other creepy-crawlies in the same building, often right across from the larger exhibits. My thinking for Dudley is that he would want to get at any of these creatures, whether that be a snake, spider, or poisonous frog.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, I would have been a very intelligent one year old.**

Chapter 2: Ten Years Later

POV: Lily Ann

Lily Ann Potter was nervous. It was her cousin Dudley's birthday and she had no idea if he would like his present; Aunt Petunia wouldn't. Gathering towards herself all the various flowers she had been collecting, Lily Ann tucked them gently into the tin and hid it under the hedge in the garden. She didn't know why she was being so secretive – they were only flowers – but somehow she knew that Aunt Petunia wouldn't approve of what she was using them for. She never seemed to like the abnormal.

Running inside, Lily Ann quickly knocked on her brother's door under the stairs and whispered through the crack, "Hurry. They'll be getting up soon and then all hell will be let loose if you're still in there."

She heard a mumbled reply and she darted upstairs into her bedroom before anyone could see that we she was up and about. She scrunched her brow in thought as she wondered why she and Harry were treated so differently. She wasn't supposed to be up before Dudley, who never was up before nine when he didn't need to be, but Harry wasn't supposed to be in bed after Aunt Petunia had risen, which was never later than seven. Lily Ann had the bedroom next to Dudley's, but Harry only had the cupboard under the stairs.

It wasn't like there weren't enough bedrooms at number four, Privet Drive. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon shared a room, which was across from Dudley's room. Lily Ann had the smallest room, which was across from the spare bedroom that few people ever entered. Lily Ann often wondered why Harry couldn't stay there, but the idea was always side swept because they "needed to have room in case visitors came." Uncle Vernon's sister occasionally endured a few days there, though she never stayed long because she couldn't stand to be away from her dogs.

Even Dudley treated her differently. Dudley treated her like a sister and beat up anyone who teased her. Harry on the other hand found himself being Dudley's personal punching bag if he couldn't get away fast enough. Lily Ann couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Hearing the screeching of Aunt Petunia coming from downstairs, Lily Ann knew that Harry had ignored her warning and gone back to sleep and she grinned to herself, forgetting her previous thoughts.

* * *

POV: Dudley

Dudley was getting bored. At first looking at some of the big powerful animals like the lion and bear had made him feel strong, but as they passed the penguin exhibit and it had been a while since they had passed any dangerous animals, he and Piers began to throw small stones at the animals to see how they would react. However now they were in the reptile house and there was glass that made it impossible to get anything.

Shame. He had really wanted to _at least_ set a tarantula on his cousin.

Barely glancing at the smaller snakes and creatures, Dudley soon found the large and mighty python. He smirked at it, thinking about how much fun it would be to wrestle with it. Obviously he would win. The snake didn't even have arms.

Dudley's fantasies soon died as it became very evident of how very _boring_ snakes were. They didn't even move; even the gorillas had done that. Turning away from the exhibit, Dudley went to whine at his mother that he wanted some ice cream.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dudley thought he saw Harry in front of the exhibit he had just left. Was he… talking to the snake? Smirking, Dudley had just turned to Piers to signal to him that Harry Hunting had begun when he saw it. The snake was raising its head, looking at Harry, probably wondering how tasteless someone so skinny must be. But it was _moving._

"Get out of the way," Dudley demanded, punching Harry in the stomach. What happened next, Dudley had no idea. But somehow or another, he found himself soaking wet, laying in the exhibit as the snake hissed at Harry and slithered out, amidst screaming by all nearby patrons. But when Dudley tried to escape like the python, he found glass instead of air.

* * *

POV: Lily Ann

Lily Ann Potter had to wait hours before Aunt Petunia would let Dudley out of her sight. He was still jittering like crazy and Uncle Vernon was shouting about suing the zoo, the glass company, the zoo, and everyone else he could think of blaming. She was a lot less sure about herself and her gift.

When Dudley had fallen into that snake exhibit, Aunt Petunia kept throwing glares not only at Harry, which sort of made sense because she and Uncle Vernon blamed everything on him, but also at her. Maybe she knew about her secret.

Sitting in Dudley's room with the door shut tight, Lily Ann pulled out the tin that she had been saving and handed it to him.

Glancing warily at her, he opened the tin and saw the lily blossoms that she had collected. Dudley asked, "What's this?"

Nervously, Lily Ann spoke. "Well, I didn't know what to get you for your birthday and so I thought that I'd share with you a secret. Something I haven't even told Harry. Hold out your hand."

He did so, and she put one of the flowers in his hand and then blew on it. Slowly, the petals opened and closed as if night and day had passed all at once. Dudley watched in shock for a moment, and then looked up at Lily Ann, who was watching him closely.

As his eyes clouded, Lily Ann suddenly knew she had made the wrong choice.

"You're a freak. You and your brother. It's not normal. _You're_ not normal." He tore the flowers into tiny pieces and thrust the tin back at her. _"Freak."_

He pushed her out of the room and she stood there looking at her tin, the remains of her flowers already beginning to curl. Tears finally began to trickle out of her green eyes as she wondered if he was right.

 **So did you like it?**

 **R &R Please!**

 **HiddenReaderNinja out. :)**


	3. It's Better to Be a Witch

**A/N: I make a reference to the Great Houdini in this chapter, and before anyone makes any comment about how that's not the TV show Dudley likes to watch, I _know._ I'm not trying to make a reference to that.**

 **Disclaimer: JK Rowling is English. I'm American. The End.**

Chapter 3: It's Better to Be a Witch

POV Harry

The floor of a small, cold shack in the middle of the sea on a stormy night is never an advisable place to sleep, and is definitely even more uncomfortable on the eve of your birthday. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, there wasn't much say in the matter, and he watched his sister curled in a ball as he counted down the minutes until he… they would be eleven.

It was weird. Ever since the snake incident at the zoo, Lily Ann had seemed rather distant, as if she knew that he had talked to the snake shortly before the glass had mysteriously vanished. Maybe she blamed him like the rest of the family did and resented him for it. But that didn't explain why she no longer spent time with Dudley or why she seemed to have lost all her confidence. Some days, she even seemed ashamed of... of what? Of him? Of herself? Harry wasn't sure, but couldn't help but blame it a bit on himself. Though he had no idea why the glass had disappeared at the zoo, he _had_ been talking to the snake before it had escaped. Maybe he had convinced it to escape and flee to Brazil and it had done something worthy of the great Houdini and done so.

Harry glanced over at his cousin, who's glowing wrist watch revealed that in five minutes it would be their birthday. Maybe he should wake Lily Ann so they could celebrate together. Remembering her last reaction to being awoken in the middle of the night, Harry thought better of it.

What was that outside?

Looking again at Dudley's watch, Harry saw the last few seconds before his birthday tick away when the door quite suddenly was blown off its hinges with three loud, consecutive BOOMs.

POV Lily Ann

Lily Ann bit her lip and watched her feet as Hagrid, this giant, hairy creature of a man explained to them that they both had magic and were going to be attending a school of magic. Unlike Harry, she had no difficulty whatsoever in believing that she was… a witch. Contrary to what Harry obviously thought, she didn't find this at all comforting. This seemed to confirm every fear Lily Ann had about her gift – curse – and she wanted nothing to do with it. She remembered from history lessons that there had been many witch hunts worldwide in the fourteen and fifteen hundreds; those convicted were burned at the stake. If witches were a good thing, why were all the stories of them bad? History definitely didn't paint a pretty picture.

"It's the only place for folks like us."

She heard the words, but couldn't place the speaker. For all she knew, she had simply thought them herself.

 _It's the only place for a freak like me._

* * *

The trip through London was an uncomfortable one; at least, it was for Lily Ann. Everywhere she turned, people were staring, pointing, whispering about the witch and wizards in their midst. Every glance was judging, every rushed footstep was fleeing in fear and every word was spreading her secret.

Finally, when Lily Ann thought she couldn't take it anymore, the crowd seemed to thin and an old creaking sign baring a dark iron cauldron over a very old oak door seemed to appear from out of nowhere.

Hagrid ushered them inside. Looking at her brother, Lily Ann saw excitement in his eyes, though he had an overall aura of jumpy nervousness. Hagrid had called this place famous, and if this was what classified as famous in the wizarding world, then it was exactly what she had expected it to be. The small pub was dark and had the appearance of grubbiness. The chatter almost appeared hushed, and it completely died when the three of them entered the pub.

After Hagrid exchanged a few words with the bartender, it appeared as if the entire pub were surrounding her and Harry. Hagrid stood off to the side, beaming at the pair of them. The witches and wizards excitedly chattered in pure celebration, and Lily Ann couldn't help but think of the story of Hansel and Gretel as she hoped they weren't hungry.

"Oh my Merlin!"

"Lily Ann Potter! You look just like your mother! She was a fantastic witch!"

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."

"Dedalus, Dedalus! It's the Potters, Dedalus! The Potters are back!"

After talking to many, many people, including a stuttering man who smelled strongly of garlic and who was introduced himself as Professor Quirrell, a teacher who taught something to do with Dark Arts (here Lily Ann shuddered), they finally were able to escape into the back of the shop to a small, walled in courtyard. Lily Ann warily watched Hagrid as he tapped a brick in the wall. The moment it opened up, Lily Ann could tell that Harry was lost. She however looked at everything with a much more critical eye.

She first noticed the apothecary, in which she saw cauldrons and hot fires, live rats and snakes, crawling bugs, and something that looked eerily like blood. Across the street she saw a cage of bats, and somewhere down the road Lily Ann heard a boy crying that he had lost his toad. Even the most normal looking store, the bookstore, had books flying around in every direction, some screaming bloody murder.

As the three of them approached a white marble building that Hagrid informed them was the wizarding bank, Gringotts, which was run by goblins, Lily Ann had to beg herself out, claiming culture shock. In reality however, Lily Ann was beginning to doubt the wisdom in her choice to go to Hogwarts and was trying to avoid anything particularly magical. Sitting down on the white marble steps (which glowed faintly and didn't appear to have any shadow), she put her face in her hands, remembering the little bit of magic she had showed Dudley with lily flowers, and began to cry. That is, until she felt the staring eyes of pale, blond boy who was leaning up against one of the tall stone columns of the building.

"What do you want?" she muttered, sniffing away her tears.

Smirking slightly, the boy, who looked to be Lily Ann's own age drawled in a bored tone, "Nothing much. I was just waiting here for my parents. You know, it takes so long to reach our vaults because they're just so deep. And the security is a nightmare. Honestly, I wish my father could just use his own enchantments. It would be so much easier than going through those _goblins._ So I'm out here waiting for them and decided to come over to see why you were crying. Was that oaf of a giant you were with yelling at you or something? I swear I could hear him from up the street."

"Why is it your business?" Lily Ann demanded rudely, but then quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. It's just my parents are dead and I was raised by a bunch of… what are they called? Oh yes… Muggles… who were perfectly wonderful to me until I got my letter… they all hate me now. Apparently when they took me in, they already knew I was a _witch_ and swore they would beat the magic out of me. Magic is supposed to be a bad thing. All the stories say so, and there were witch hunts and everything. I don't want to be a witch."

The blond boy looked far from sympathetic, but there was something in his eyes that caught her attention. It wasn't quite passion… it was something more…fervent and flaming. He walked over to her.

"First off," he said, looking down at her, " _Muggles_ don't know anything. I've heard they've come up with this stupid theory that says that creatures exist because nature chose them because they were better suited for living. If that were true, there would be no Muggles. All those stories you've heard were made up by Muggles trying to frighten their children and convince them that magic is bad. Because of Muggles, we have to hide from them, as if they were better than us! But they're not. If we really wanted to, we could rule the world, but we don't. We let them live, believing that they're the only ones out there. We once tried living with them, but they kicked us out! Can you believe it, _they_ kicked _us_ out? And the Ministry of Magic made this stupid Secrecy Decree that we all have to live by so the Muggles can live in their ignorance."

Lily Ann was shocked. Could it be true that the wizard world was just hiding because Muggles didn't want anything to do with them? It did seem to fit with the Dursley's way of thinking. "That hardly seems fair." She said after thinking over his words.

"It's not. And that's why I hate Muggles. If we tell them the truth, they'd just hate us and try and kill us. They wouldn't win, but the Ministry is too weak to do anything useful against them. We shouldn't have to live in hiding, but because of the Ministry and the hatred of Muggles, we have to. If I were you, I would renounce any affiliation to Muggles before you're branded a Muggle lover." Looking over his shoulder, the pale boy said. "I've got to go. See you at school."

And with that, the boy was gone, leaving Lily Ann alone with her thoughts. She looked down at her feet to see a lily flower. She picked it up and for the first time in weeks, used her magic to open and close the petals.

Glaring at the flower in her hand, she felt a new resolve harden inside of her as she declared fiercely, "I'm a witch. Dudley you better well believe it."


	4. A Place to Belong

**A/N: I've done very little to change this chapter, but if you see anything that you think needs clarifying, let me know.**

 **Disclaimer: There's a reason the saying goes "The next JK Rowling." At this point, that's not me.**

Chapter 4: A Place to Belong

POV: Harry

September first, the day everything would change. Harry Potter woke early, even by Aunt Petunia's standards, and couldn't help but pace as the clock ticked slowly towards eleven o'clock. As he paced, Harry thought about how much everything could change in so little time. He had been utterly miserable up until the day Hagrid came crashing through that door, wind howling behind him. Harry grinned at the memory. At the time, Harry couldn't tell if Hagrid was man or bear. Suddenly Harry had a background, money, people who genuinely seemed interested in him, and a future; in short, Harry had a place he belonged.

Looking around at the walls of the room he now shared with his sister, Harry suddenly realized how blind he'd been. Lily Ann had been keeping to herself a lot lately, silent and sullen. At first he couldn't put his finger on it, but now after a lot of thinking, Harry realized that she must be lonely. She had always been on very good terms with the Dursleys, and had spent a lot of time with Dudley. She had always excused herself when Dudley was in a hitting mood, but Dudley actually restrained himself quite a bit when she was around. But now even that was gone, and that couldn't be easy for her. Harry swore to himself that he would find her some friends the moment he got on the train.

POV: Lily Ann

Contrary to what Harry thought, Lily Ann was not lonely. At least, that's what she told herself. Her so called family, who had taken her in knowing full well what and who she was, had turned on her the moment she had been declared a witch; why would she be lonely for that? They had never loved the real her. Besides, she had her new Great Gray, Twilight for company, and Harry, if he ever got over his fawning of magic. Yes, they had magic, but that didn't mean he had to make notice of it every five minutes. It only made life worse at number four, Privet Drive, something that Lily Ann was seriously trying to avoid.

No, she wasn't lonely; she was angry. Behind her quiet demeanor was a deep resentment towards muggles in general and the Dursleys in particular, and as she and Harry walked through the crowd at Kings' Cross Station, Lily Ann couldn't help but glare at the people who they passed. If they knew what she was, they wouldn't just idly let her pass by. They'd likely take her, lock her up, and snap her brand new nine-and-a-half inch unicorn hair Rowan wand in half faster than she could use it to escape, even if she did know how to use it. And that'd be if she were lucky. If she weren't, there'd be another witch hunt on their hands.

After what seemed like an eternity of wading through tourists, businessmen, school children, and security, the two of them finally reached the platforms nine and ten, but nowhere was there a sign that even suggested a platform nine and three-quarters, even one that couldn't be seen by muggles like the Leaky Cauldron. But Harry, being the optimist that he had become in the past month, immediately looked around and spotted a group of redheads, all of whom appeared to be talking at once, and one of whom had an _owl_ **.**

With confidence that was so very un-Harry like, Harry marched up to the bemused looking woman who appeared to be the mother of the group and said with no more than a moment's hesitation, "Excuse me, but could you help us get onto the platform? You see, we've never been and…"

"Oh not to worry, dear. It's Ron's first year as well."

The witch, for she most certainly was a witch, looked down at them with such a kind, motherly expression that it almost made Lily Ann think of Aunt Petunia, until she remembered her betrayal and squashed the memory. She hated Aunt Petunia; any memory that told her otherwise was a lie.

"All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between nine and ten," the witch continued, bringing Lily Ann out of her turmoil. "Best to do it at a run, if you're nervous."

After watching the tallest of the boys run at the wall, quickly followed by a pair of twins who called themselves Fred and George – George and Fred? – Harry grabbed her arm and said, "Come on then, we haven't got all day." He then proceeded to run at the wall full force. Rolling her eyes at his antics, Lily Ann followed, leaving behind her brother's theatrics.

Upon entering the platform, Lily Ann had to stop herself from gaping. Over the past month, she had almost convinced herself that she and Harry actually _were_ freaks of nature and that Hagrid, Diagon Alley, and that blond boy were all just figments of her imagination to make her feel like she belonged someplace. But upon seeing the brightly polished train with hundreds of witches and wizards milling about in robes of every color imaginable, Lily Ann finally let herself hope for a better future. For the first time in a month, Lily Ann felt joy and excitement about being a witch. Looking down at her Muggle clothing, she decided that she would shed them at the first opportunity; if she was going to enter this new world, she was going to rid herself of everything Muggle and fully embrace the Wizarding World. If Muggles were going to turn their backs on her, she would turn her back on Muggles.

Seeing Harry already setting forth to find a compartment, Lily Ann stopped her staring and ran after him, hoping in the back of her mind to find that blond boy from Diagon Alley who had been so kind as to help her understand what it meant to be a witch. Perhaps he could help her further understand the Wizarding World. The last thing she wanted was to be branded a Muggle lover by her obvious lack of knowledge of anything remotely magical.

At the end of the train, they found an empty compartment were almost immediately accosted by the two red headed twins they had met earlier on the platform.

"We couldn't help noticing…"

"…as it is in our nature to notice…"

"…that you two came alone…"

"…and as such might have need of a hand…"

"…or four as this case might be…"

"…with your trunks."

Lily Ann blinked twice, nonplussed. Never before had she seen two siblings so in sync with the other; she hardly could tell which one was speaking.

"Oh look, Fred, I think we've stunned them into silence."

"I do believe you're right, George. I believe we have some demonstrations for the ickle firsties."

"Right you are, Fred."

And without another word, the twins whipped out their wands with a flick, sent Lily Ann and Harry's luggage flying onto the train and into the overhead luggage compartments. With a flourish, they tucked away their wands, bowed to each other, and then finally to Lily Ann and Harry who were standing in stunned silence.

"Fred and George Weasley at your service!" recited the twins as they snapped to attention and mock saluted the pair, an effect that was completely lost when Fred leaned in to whisper behind his hand.

"This is the point where you introduce yourselves so we know who it is we're pranking before we've pranked them. It's a minor inconvenience not knowing whose daddy we'll be receiving a Howler from beforehand."

Lily Ann surprised herself when she giggled at their theatrics, and momentarily forgetting the fiasco at the Leaky Cauldron, she mock bowed to the twins and introduced herself.

"My name is Lily Ann, and this is my twin brother Harry. As to receiving anything from our parents, I think you're safe."

The Weasley Twins' act dropped as quickly as their jaws.

"You aren't…?

"They are!"

"It can't be!

"But it is!"

"What the hell are you badgering on about?" Harry, being the thick-headed idiot that he was, asked.

"The Potter Twins!"

"Oh, er, yea, we are," Harry blushed slightly.

Lily Ann had thought that she was used to the gawking of others from her experience at the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley, but realized she likely never would as the Weasley twins gaped at them in astonishment. Saved from further questioning as the boys' mother called them, Lily Ann leaned over to her brother.

"Saved by the bell."

* * *

The train ride took entirely too long for Lily Ann. What with Harry and his new best friend, Ronald Weasley –another red-headed brother of Fred and George – gouging on candy (Lily Ann point blank refused to even touch the bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans after hearing of George's booger flavored one) and with a bushy haired witch called Hermione Granger trying to teach her everything she had learned from _Hogwarts, A History_ when she saw Lily Ann was the only girl in the pack of wolves, Lily Ann was getting rather frustrated when the train finally came to a screeching halt.

Leaving behind their luggage, she, Harry, Ron, and Hermione clambered off the train and looked around with mild interest. They were standing in the outskirts of a small village ("It's called Hogsmeade. It's the only entirely magical community in all of Britain. I read all about it in _Magical Encounters of the Twentieth Century),_ and a tall and looming figure was waving a large lantern down the way, shouting.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Hurry up, make way! Firs' years follow me! All right there, you two?"

It was Hagrid, looking as hairy and disheveled as he ever had. Now that she understood more about magic, Lily Ann felt much more receptive to the large man and grinned up at him.

"All right, Hagrid?"

Lily Ann's first glimpse of the castle was fantastic. The castle's many windows sparkled in the reflection of the lake before them, and the view from the boats was even better. The towers and turrets and the seeming never endingness to the entire thing made the entire experience… magical. It was like a fairy tale, but better because she would actually be able to use magic, not just have magic used on her. Now being led through the Great Hall, Lily Ann's excitement level spiked as she realized once again that here were hundreds of people her own age who were just like her: magical.

As Ron, Harry, and perhaps even Hermione were panicking about the sorting that would shortly take place, Lily Ann felt a great calm settle upon her. It didn't really matter to her what House she was put in. As long as she could prove herself to be better than the Dursleys, that's all that mattered. Who cared that every witch or wizard to go bad was once in Slytherin; that didn't mean they all went bad. Supposedly the truest friends were found in Hufflepuff, but you could find friends anywhere. No, it didn't matter where she was sorted; she would enjoy herself no matter where she was placed.

She nodded to herself and was startled when the old, tattered hat in front of them began to sing. It was an odd song that was full of the virtues of each house, and as it ended its song, it only reconfirmed her opinion that no one house was better than the next.

Lily Ann shook herself out of her reverie as she realized that half of the sorting was already finished.

"MacDougal, Morag!"

"RAVENCLAW!

"Macmillan, Ernest!

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

As Ernest, ran down to join his new house, Lily Ann noticed the next boy who Professor McGonagall had called, "Malfoy, Draco," who was put into Slytherin. She smiled at him as she realized it was the boy from Gringotts, and smirked at her brother as she was thinking of how this was a perfect example of how his and Ron's bias towards Slytherins was false. However Harry was pursing his lips into a tight line with dislike as he watched Draco, and Ron was whispering franticly in his ear. Slightly confused, she turned as she watched "Moon, Lily" get sorted into Hufflepuff.

After what seemed an eternity but really couldn't have been more than a few minutes, "Potter, Harry" was called and Lily Ann gave her brother's hand a quick squeeze as he made his way nervously forward. The hat seemed to sit there for a while, and as she looked at Harry's face scrunched up in concentration, she realized he was arguing with the hat because of the look of frustration that she saw on his face that only ever entered it when he got brave enough to argue with Uncle Vernon. She smirked as she realized what it was he likely was arguing about.

Finally the hat shouted out to the anticipating school, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The roar of the Gryffindors, and a few of the other houses, was so loud that Professor McGonagall had to wait for several seconds before she could call out the next name.

"Potter, Lily Ann!"

The school went deathly silent as Lily Ann walked forward, and she couldn't help but noticing the Gryffindors on the edge of their seats, anticipating the victory of having the Potter Twins in their house.

"I dare say, this is a change. A nice change I must say, but a change nonetheless," said a small voice in her ear. "Brave, and very loyal I can see, with a fierce desire to prove yourself, oh my goodness, yes. But with no reservations like your brother did."

Not able to contain herself any longer, Lily Ann couldn't help but ask, "Is that what Harry was arguing about? He didn't want to be in Slytherin?"

She could almost feel the hat smile as the quiet voice spoke again, "Ah, very bright as well. Difficult. But interhouse relations are so important and you seem to be able to understand that better than anyone else so the best place to start would have to be...

"SLYTHERIN!"

 **When I originally wrote this chapter, one of the comments I received was that they didn't think Lily Ann sounded very loyal, which I understood what they were probably thinking. In response to this, all I have to say is that Lily Ann can and will be extremely loyal to those closest to her. Her loyalty to the Dursley's was very quickly shattered, however, due to what felt like the ultimate betrayal of trust when the Dursleys so quickly turned on her when her magic was revealed. It was like a stab in the back for Lily Ann, who had been close to them for the first 10 years of her life, and it will take a lot of time for her to forgive them, should they ever seek it. If you think that makes her unloyal, then so be it. I'm not taking it back.**

 **So I need to know a few things: what do you want from Lily Ann? How close does she get to Draco? How close is she with her brother and his muggle-loving friends? What can I do better?**

 **If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!**

 **R &R!**

 **~HiddenReaderNinja**


	5. Divided Loyalties

**Disclaimer: How many Ravenclaws does it take to do the disclaimer? None, because it doesn't take a Ravenclaw to know that I don't own Harry Potter. Anything that seems familiar either directly or indirectly belongs to JK Rowling**

Chapter 5: Divided Loyalties

POV: Lily Ann

"Slytherin? Did it say Slytherin?"

"Barking mad, it is."

Whispers somehow seemed to stand out to Lily Ann, making her smirk at the naivety of her peers as she walked with a slight bounce in her step towards the table that was roaring in approval at a volume that rivaled the Gryffindors'. Looking at Harry's peers, Lily Ann couldn't help notice their dejected look and remembered what Hermione had said on the train about the fierce competition between the two houses. Perhaps she could do something about that, having her own brother in Gryffindor. That did appear to be why the Sorting Hat had put her in Slytherin.

Sliding into the seat next to Draco, who appeared to have just shoved Gregory from the seat to make room for her, she smiled at the boy and said, "Fancy seeing you here. I was rather hoping to find you on the train."

"Yes well," the boy drawled, "I was rather preoccupied. Some fool decided to spread a rumor that the Potters were on board so I naturally had to search the train to make sure they were in good company."

"Oh how honorable of you," Lily Ann said sweetly, fighting the smirk that was slowly creeping up her face. "And it took you that long to search the entire train?"

"No," said the boy who had just been sorted as he sat down next to the reseated Gregory. "No, he was stopped by Jordan and the Weasleys. Apparently they heard about this quest of Draco's and decided he needed an extra eight eyes and legs for him to complete it so put a tarantula down his shirt to compensate. You should've seen the look on his face!" The boy looked off into the distance, lost in the memory.

"Nobody asked you, Zabini," scowled Draco, and turned to the feast that had just appeared in front of them, ignoring the laughter of his housemates.

POV: Harry

"I can't believe it!" Harry growled, glaring over at the Slytherin table. "She's schmoozing up to him! That filthy, arrogant, pompous, no good little git!"

"I know mate, I know. But don't take it out on your plate!" Ron said in what was supposed to be a soothing voice but actually came out sounding quite thick as Ron made his way through his third helping of fried chicken. "You can always get him personally later."

Harry had looked down at his hardly touched steak and realized he was indeed very close to shattering the plate beneath it if he continued to saw at it like he had for the past five minutes. When the hat had shouted out Slytherin, he had thought it was a mistake. Who in their right mind would put Lily Ann in a house full of evil snakes? Especially considering that it was one of those snakes that had tried to kill both of them when they were only one.

"Get who?" asked Hermione nosily as she emerged from a conversation with Percy about classes. "You better not be picking fights. You'd be losing points before we've even started!"

"I'm not picking fights," Harry argued haughtily. "It's my responsibility as a brother to make sure my sister isn't hanging around the wrong crowd."

Harry looked again at the Slytherin table where Lily Ann was animatedly talking to Malfoy, who looked smug and very pleased with himself. Lily Ann looked up and saw Harry looking at her, giving him a small smile, but continued talking as if nothing had happened.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Honestly Harry, do you really think that's going to work? She's in Slytherin; it should only be expected that she would be making friends _in her own house._ You can't expect her to ignore her house in favor of ours."

"I can," growled Harry, clenching his fork so tightly his knuckles turned white. "Everyone knows she should've been Sorted in Gryffindor." This made Harry wonder why she didn't ask the hat to be put in Gryffindor too. They weren't that different, were they?

"Besides," Ron interjected before Hermione could cut in again, "It's not about her making friends with Slytherins. It's about her making friends with that _particular_ Slytherin."

"I hardly think that's fair," Hermione huffed haughtily. "What have you got against him anyways? Just because you had a bad first impression doesn't mean he's a bad person. My parents always told me to never judge a book by its cover."

"Does everything always have to be about books with you, Hermione?" Ron demanded. " Everyone knows that you never mess with the Malfoys; they're bad news. Besides," Ron added darkly, spearing a bit of potato and waving it for emphasis. "The Malfoys were all on You-Know-Who's side during the war. Dad reckons they only came back to our side when they realized it was either that or Azkaban."

"That's exactly what his aunt got," piped up Neville, but as if realizing he had just spoken, backtracked a little and added in a small voice, "At least, that's what I've heard."

Hermione relented a little, but huffed stubbornly, "Just because some of the family is bad doesn't mean all Malfoys are inherently evil."

"In his case, it does," Harry muttered darkly into his plate.

Hermione harrumphed and turned away from the boys, completely annoyed with their attitudes.

* * *

Harry was still plotting how to get at Malfoy the next morning when suddenly his scheming was interrupted by a whooshing sound from overhead. Hundreds upon hundreds of owls were flying in circles overhead, all bearing envelopes, packages, and newspapers as they searched for the respectable owners. Harry found himself ducking quickly as an owl flew down to Lee Jordan next to him, affectively spilling pumpkin juice down his robes.

As Harry gaped at the hundreds of owls overhead (and as a horrible stench wafted over from Lee's general direction as he, Fred, and George tore open the parcel and quickly stored its contents in the folds of their robes) Harry had an epiphany, and he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before.

"Fred, George, I need your help settling a score."

Turning to him, they grinned wickedly.

"Ah, Fred. Look at him, our ickle Harrykins is already out for blood."

"I always knew he would want to follow in our footsteps."

"It only seems like yesterday that we left him alone on the train with ickle Ronnikins."

"I do believe that _was_ yesterday, Fred."

"I do believe you're right, George. They grow up so fast, sometimes I forget."

"Though it's hard to forget because they so quickly come back groveling."

Ron rolled his eyes at his brothers, but Harry ignored their jibes; he had something more important in mind. Leaning closer to the twins, Harry said in a low voice, quickly glancing over at the Slytherin table conspiratorially, "What do you guys feel about going after Draco Malfoy?"

POV: Lily Ann

Lily Ann had never had such a good week before in her life – she had discounted any and all memories that portrayed the Dursley's in any positive light – and couldn't wait to tell her brother about her week during their afternoon tea with Hagrid.

Walking down the stairs to their first lesson of Potions, she couldn't help think of how her life had completely turned around from a month ago. Upon arrival at Hogwarts, Lily Ann had found people who like her – the real her – and even though Pansy Parkinson could be a little annoying and Milicent Bulstrode was somewhat of a bully to other first years, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis were wonderful people and were always willing to answer her questions. Lily Ann was really loving her housemates. Draco and sometimes Blaise Zabini would talk to her every evening after dinner while they were working on homework and would help her with her understanding of the Wizarding World. While she didn't necessarily agree with everything they had to say, she was grateful for her better understanding of things around her.

Becoming a witch was probably the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Potions class took place in the dungeons, and was substantially cooler than the rest of the school. Not that Lily Ann minded, she kind of liked the way the cool air rested on her skin; it felt like being inside of a cool dark cave or the cool morning mist before the sun has hit it.

Entering the classroom and seeing Hermione Granger looking as ever ready to take on the world, Lily Ann suddenly realized that this was the first time that the Slytherins and Gryffindors had shared a class before, and as such Lily Ann had no idea what to expect from the two rivals.

Professor Snape on the other hand did, and as he swept in just moments after Harry and Ron ran in looking flushed and slightly out of breath and mere seconds before the bell rang, he called out "Settle down!" although it was already silent. Apparently he was used to at least some form of commotion, though Lily Ann really couldn't imagine Professor Snape tolerating commotion.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper to death."

His black, beady eyes scanned the classroom, daring anyone to interrupt, stopping momentarily on Harry as he did so. Lily Ann couldn't help notice that he avoided looking at her, just as he had when passing out the class schedules the first day. She frowned, unable to make anything of it, but shrugged; she was probably just imagining things.

"Mr. Potter!" Snape snapped, causing about half of the Gryffindors to jump. Poor Longbottom even fell out of his seat. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry looked at Ron, who looked just as perplexed as Lily Ann felt, before turning back to Professor Snape, "I don't know, sir."

Professor Snape's face contorted into something that Lily Ann didn't like, though made Draco chortle and Pansy smirk. Gregory and Vincent didn't seem to know how to react, so after a moment's hesitation, settled on silently laughing like Draco.

"Tut, tut – fame clearly isn't everything. Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Draco began shaking from the effort of not laughing, and Lily Ann looked at him quizzically, "Do you know?"

Draco began shaking even more and choked out, barely containing his mirth as he shook his head, "Of course not; we have servants to know how to make these. Father told me all about Professor Snape, and he's even better than I thought." He choked again and stopped talking as Harry again responded.

"I don't know, sir."

Lily Ann frowned as she saw Hermione with her arm thrust in the air. Professor Snape was pointedly ignoring her. He was clearly picking on Harry in the one way he could as a professor.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

Professor Snape looked as if he were going to further test Harry, but Lily Ann had had enough; it was time to turn the tables on her head of house.

"Professor?" Lily Ann asked sweetly as he opened his mouth. "Pardon me for interrupting, but what is the point behind this? If you were trying to teach, then shouldn't you at least tell us the answers so we could take notes? Or perhaps you were trying to test, in which case you should be asking random students without singling one individual out. But if you were merely trying to ridicule, I'd suggest you get your facts straight. It appears as if you are implying that because he is famous, Harry is less inclined to study and that as such, he has not taken the time to look through his school books. If you look at the name of his owl, you will find that he found her name, Hedwig, in _A History of Magic._ You will also find that while both Harry and I are famous, Harry took the time to read our textbooks while being _more_ famous than I am – I did not read anything of the textbook.

"Of course if your only intention in your comments was to advise, both Harry and I are well aware that fame isn't everything. In our eyes, we've only been famous for about a month, though we thank you for your consideration."

Professor Snape blinked twice and seemed unable to figure how he was supposed to respond. Apparently he wasn't used to students from his own house standing up for the Gryffindors. In fact, Lily Ann wouldn't have been surprised if it was the first time he had ever seen it.

Lily Ann smiled sweetly and folded her arms patiently waiting for the lesson to commence, fully aware that every eye in the room was on her. Draco gaped at her in utter astonishment and Daphne hissed urgently, "What do you think you're doing; he's a Gryffindor!"

"And he still my brother."

In the end Lily Ann lost a point for disrupting the class and found she didn't care. She had heard that Snape played favorites and decided that that really needed to change. No teacher should openly show favoritism. Though, she mused, it was more like discrimination against all Gryffindors.

Sitting down at lunch, Lily Ann found to her amusement that whispers seemed to follow her even more than usual as the word of her showdown with Professor Snape spread. The Slytherins were somewhat perplexed and even annoyed, though some were good natured enough to be amused. On the other hand this single event seemed to make her rather popular among the other houses, especially so among the Gryffindors. Lily Ann even found herself being approached by members of the other houses to congratulate her, thank her, laugh with her, and other such trivialities so often that when Fred and George advanced from the Gryffindor table, Lily Ann had to put her foot down.

"Guys, if you're going to come over and tell me that I actually should be in Gryffindor, or any other house for that matter, save your breath. I've already heard," she, gesturing to the Patil twins who were walking away with Zacharias Smith and Justin Finch-Fletchly.

The two twins looked at each other in mock reflection, "Well it wouldn't be a stretch to say that it takes a lot of nerve to go up against Snape…"

"With a touch of insanity…"

"And it takes real ingenuity to silence that git…"

"Not to mention there was a lot of loyalty to Harry there…"

"But that was far to cunning for you to be anything but Slytherin." The twins nodded at each other as they finished listing the different house traits she had just displayed.

"Nah, we're just here to congratulate you that you've succeeded where we've failed in your first year to get Snape to take away points from his own house without a teacher witness," Fred said wistfully, making himself at home at the Slytherin table by leaning back and stretching out his long legs.

"She's become quite the little Marauder, she has."

"And as such, we would like to formally invite you to be involved in any way, shape or form in what we like to call business."

Smirking slightly at the image that "business" brought, Lily Ann shook her head. "While I appreciate the offer, at this time I have no need of the trouble that such "business" would bring. Although," she added with a mad gleam in her eye, "I may just take up that offer whenever Harry gets a bit annoying."

She shared an evil grin with the twins and they removed themselves from the table. As they whistled away, Draco took the place they had just vacated, looking rather sour.

"What did the weasels want? Surely they're above handouts," he glared at the older students who were now joining Lee Jordan at the Gryffindor table.

Lily Ann refrained from rolling her eyes as he muttered a string of curses under his breath, "Honestly, they're not that bad. And it's not a crime to be poor. Not everyone can be rich, you know."

Lily Ann never had a chance to complete her thought because at that moment, Draco let out a startled yell. Looking over at him she saw Draco staring at his plate with confusion. Ignoring her, he determinably took a bite of his pot pie _until it vanished._ Letting out a frustrated yell, he again attempted to take a bite before it again disappeared moments before it entered his mouth. Draco then began to shovel his food as quickly as he could, never managing to take a single bite before it vanished into thin air. Before long, his plate looked as clean as it had before Draco had loaded it.

Completely baffled, the two of them along with Vincent and Gregory, stared at the plate as the Great Hall slowly filled with laughter at Draco's plight.

Three o'clock found Harry and Lily Ann, along with Ron and Tracey inside of Hagrid's hut, which was small and cramped, though it somehow seemed suitable for him. Tracey seemed to doubt the wisdom of coming with Lily Ann, but seeing Lily Ann's begging face, had agreed to come "just this once."

Hagrid seemed quite content to sit back and listen to them talk about their week, Fang drooling all over his knee until Ron started ranting about Professor Snape.

"Can you _believe_ that they actually let him teach here? I _mean_ he's not actually very good, now is he? Fred and George say they've never actually learned anything from him and this is their third year!"

"Oh I'm sure Fred and George are a great well of information. I don't even know how they manage to pass their first two years. You sure know how to choose your sources, Ronald," huffed Tracey, thoroughly put out by the jibe at her head of house.

"I swear he hates me. He's taken points from me three times already, and I've only been to class with him once! I didn't even do anything that last time…" Harry pointed out. "And he always seems to be contemplating my death whenever he looks at me."

"Nonsense!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Professor Snape is a Hogwarts teacher."

"At least he looks at you," Lily Ann interjected, completely ignoring Hagrid. "Imagine, your own head of house not looking at you! Even when he was taking points from me, he looked anywhere _but_ at me."

"Something everyone wishes would happen to them," Ron muttered moodily, taking a bite out of the rock cakes set before him and grimacing, setting it back down on the plate looking like it had never been touched.

Hagrid must've sensed an argument brewing, and loudly changed the subject, "Well that's all over with now, yeh must've done more than Potions, now hasn't yeh?"

Lily Ann's thoughts immediately turned to Draco and she glanced darkly at Tracey, whose thoughts seemed to be heading the same direction.

"I've been pretty occupied this afternoon," she said elusively, really not in the mood to retell the story. She had spent two hours helping Draco find _something_ in the school that he could eat. After finding no success, they went to Professor Snape for help, who quickly cast a counterspell that immediately ended the forced famine. Both she and Draco were rather irritated by the simplicity of the cure, and Draco had stormed off to plan revenge on the culprit.

Harry and Ron both snickered behind their hands, and Lily Ann glared at the pair of them.

"It's not funny you two! It was actually rather mean," Lily Ann said indignantly. "If anything, I'll be helping Draco get back at those jerks." Tracey nodded in agreement.

Hagrid looked thoroughly confused at the argument that was beginning to form, "Hold up you four, what'd be going on in the castle?"

Still glaring at Harry, Lily Ann responded vehemently, "Some _idiot_ decided it would be funny to vanish anything that Draco tried to eat. It took hours to figure out how to stop them."

Harry snorted into his mug and muttered under his breath to Ron, "And I'm surprised he even _did_ stop them." Ron smirked.

Unfortunately for Harry, Lily Ann heard him and went into a towering rage as things all began to click inside her head.

"And what would you know of that, Harry Potter?" she asked in a menacingly low voice.

Catching his mistake, Harry quickly backtracked. "I, uh, nothing," He stuttered unconvincingly.

"Harry James Potter, I know you far too well to believe your stupid lies," Lily Ann threatened. "Now tell me the truth before I set Vince and Greg on you."

Harry flinched, obviously thinking of the incidents that had begun on their very first day. Nobody wanted to be on the wrong side of Crabbe and Goyle. "He really is a bad influence on you, you know," He said evasively, trying to avoid the question.

Lily Ann however knew her brother far too well and read that statement for what it really was. She wasn't an idiot and was rather furious with her brother. "So you've decided that you know better than I do when it comes to my friends. You decided to take it into your own hands to make sure I don't go off with the 'wrong sort.' So you go off and punish those who don't stand up to par, starting with Draco. And yes," she added, seeing him open his mouth to protest, "I know you couldn't actually perform those spells but I know that you must've been the instigator. You just got…" here she paused in thought and then slapped her forehead, "Fred and George! Of course, how could I have been so _stupid!_ They were right there right before Draco sat down."

Lily Ann's words rang truth, and Harry seemed to be hiding from her wrath as he sank lower and lower in his seat, signifying to her that she was correct.

She was standing now, looking as if she were about to burst, though her next words were eerily calm. "You know what? I can't believe you would actually do that to me after what I did for you in potions. Next time I think I'll just let Snape grill you."

With that, she turned on her brother and said to Hagrid, "I'm sorry, Hagrid, but I believe it's time for me to go. I have homework that I need to finish and I'd like to get it done before the weekend's up. Please tell Harry for me that I don't want to see his face until he's willing to respect my life decisions."

With a finally glare at her brother, Lily Ann left with Tracey without another word.

 **Anything you'd like to see more of? Less?**

 **What events/adventures do you want Lily Ann to be involved in? What should she just be an observer?**

 **Review with your answers!**

 **~HiddenReaderNinja**


	6. Of Broomsticks and Broomcupboards

**Disclaimer: If I were JK Rowling, it wouldn't be called** ** _fan_** **fiction, now would it?**

Chapter 6: Of Broomsticks and Broom Cupboards

POV: Lily Ann

Lily Ann was still fuming when she and Tracey reached the Great Hall fifteen minutes later. It was a little early for dinner, but there were still enough students milling about studying talking, playing exploding snap or other such activities that Lily Ann was certain that her entrance with Tracey went unnoticed. There were enough whispers going around that she didn't need the added attention of entering the hall flushed and angry.

Sitting at the Slytherin table next to Daphne, who had come up early from the dungeons to avoid Vincent and Gregory, Lily Ann let herself burn off some pent up feelings as she cursed into her hands.

Daphne, quite amused with the mini rant, smirked and asked innocently, "Okay, I know all Gryffindors are egotistical bastards, but which one has finally turned the great mediator against the house of the stupid?

"Harry," Tracey said quickly as Lily Ann looked up in shock. "She just found out that he's the one who jinxed Draco."

"Just because I find my brother to be an egotistical _idiot_ does not make the rest of the Gryffindors the same. And being reckless and stupid are completely different things. And no, I am not turning against Gryffindors because of this. Harry does not represent the entire Gryffindor population. Besides, that wasn't exactly a jinx. More of a mini curse or something."

Daphne rolled her eyes, "As if that's better?"

"The real question is," Tracey said, ignoring Lily Ann's comments all together, "Are you going to tell Draco? He's definitely planning revenge as we speak."

As she said these words, food appeared in front of them. There certainly were more students around, and as Fred and George Weasley entered, Lily Ann momentarily forgot the question as she thought of that morning.

"No. I mean, yes. I mean, give me a minute."

Quickly checking that Harry and Ron weren't back from Hagrid's, Lily Ann ran over to the Gryffindor table, ignoring the odd looks people were shooting her. The Weasley twins were already conspiring together, completely ignoring the salmon on their plates; when they saw Lily Ann, however, they quickly sat up and put on their mock business faces. Though Lily Ann liked the pair, she was more than slightly annoyed with their participation in the prank on Draco.

"Ah, she returns!" cried Fred in mock surprise.

"Just as we always knew she would," replied George in the same jovial tone.

"Cut the act guys," she glared at the two, in no mood for their theatrics. "Were you or were you not responsible for the shenanigans at lunch?"

The twins looked shocked for a moment, then a new respect gleamed in their eyes.

"Blimey, Lils."

"Nobody ever correctly pinpoints chaos on us that quickly."

"Unless we want them to, of course."

"They usually take ages."

"It's rather pathetic, actually."

"You'd think they'd learn by now."

The twins' cheerful grins faded as they saw Lily Ann's glare.

"Merlin, that's scary." Fred whispered to his brother, who nodded.

"Just like Mum."

Lily Ann wasn't finished, "I take it that little 'offer' earlier was just an excuse to come over and jinx or hex or charm or whatever you did to Draco's plate."

"Yes," George looked over at Fred who added, "and no."

George quickly went on, seeing the look on Lily Ann's face. "it was actually more of a convenience than anything."

"We were going to recruit you anyways."

"It just helped that you happened to be a Slytherin that we can talk to without having a duel."

Lily Ann huffed at that but wouldn't give them the satisfaction of showing that she was pleased. Her plans might not work otherwise.

"Well if there was any truth to what you said earlier, you'll listen to me now. If you must prank, that's fine by me, but if Harry ever comes to you with meaningless revenge written on his face, you will…" Lily Ann paused in thought, and the Weasley twins leaned in in anticipation.

"You will go along with it, but you will tell me the plan so that I can turn it on him. Maybe _that_ will convince him that I can take care of myself."

Fred and George looked at each other and an evil grin spread across their faces.

"That was perfectly Slytherin of you."

"We accept."

* * *

The following week passed rather quickly as Draco simmered with frustration. Though neither Lily Ann, Daphne nor Tracey ever mentioned the actual culprit, Draco seemed to have decided on his own that Harry was to blame and was bent on revenge. Lily Ann felt that Harry deserved whatever was coming at him and wasn't about to get in his way. Draco's opportunity presented itself the following Wednesday when it was announced that flying lessons would take place the next day with the Gryffindors.

"Flying with the Gryffindors!" Draco crowed. "Potter made me look like a fool, and now I'll make him look like an idiot. Potter will never know what hit him!"

So great was his excitement that he didn't even notice Lily Ann's shakings the next day as they made their way to the grassy field where they would have their first lesson. Lily Ann had never been fond of heights. Back at her muggle school, she had once fallen off the rope climb during gym. Miraculously – or perhaps by a bit of accidental magic – she hadn't been hurt, but she had been so traumatized that Aunt Petunia, after a number of angry phone call to the school, gave Lily Ann a note that excused her from "that dangerous sport."

Not long after, Piers Polkiss had chased her up a tree on a rare Dudley-free day in one of his many failed attempts to get a kiss, a game that he found quite entertaining. She had climbed until she was a safe distance from Piers, but when she had shifted her weight, she slipped off and fell down on top of Piers, successfully flattening him.

Needless to say, Lily Ann was not looking forward to this lesson; far too many things seemed to happen to her while she was in the air.

The sound of snickering brought Lily Ann out of her thoughts, and she turned to look at Pansy and Draco, who were whispering conspiratorially together. Standing with them, Daphne smirked as she made eye contact with Lily Ann and leaned over to whisper, "Marcus Flint – he's our Quidditch captain – jinxed one of the school brooms to start flying without direction. Potter's standing right next to it."

Panicked, Lily Ann looked at her brother, who was listening to an ecstatic Ron and looking rather excited himself.

Feeling rather sick, Lily Ann asked quietly, "So this is Draco's revenge? Won't it hurt him?"

Daphne seemed rather unconcerned about this prospect and waved it off, "Nah. Madam Hooch would have him off in seconds. The most it'll do is humiliate him, which is exactly what we're looking for."

Not exactly reassured, Lily Ann found it impossible to argue as Madam Hooch's billowing cloak announced her arrival. She was a wild looking woman. Her slightly spiked hair suggested that she was rarely on the ground and there seemed to be a mad glint in her eye as she ordered them to their brooms.

Lily Ann watched as Harry's broom jumped right into his hand on the first command (it took her a few tries before she succeeded). She was so distracted that she hardly heard any of Madam Hooch's lecture on broom safety and completely missed Draco showing off that led to him be reprimanded by Madam Hooch concerning his grip.

All too soon, Lily Ann heard the dreaded words that they would then begin.

"Now when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle – three –two – "

Maybe Lily Ann was paying too much attention to the broomstick Harry was using, but Lily Ann never heard the whistle before she saw the broom flying into the air. But what surprised her was to see not the terrified face of Harry, but that of Neville Longbottom. What was worse was the fact that was quickly becoming apparent to everyone present; even if the broomstick hadn't been jinxed, Neville Longbottom simply did not know how to fly. He slowly bobbed higher and higher until suddenly the broom turned over in midair, leaving Neville hanging like a sloth before he completely slid off his broom and fell in a pile.

With Madam Hooch at the lead, the Gryffindors and Lily Ann all ran over to where Neville lay, holding his wrist gingerly.

"Oh, oh, oh," Madam Hooch said, clicking her tongue as she examined his wrist. Helping Neville to his feet as he cradled his arm, she muttered, "Broken wrist," and then turned to the class with a stern glare.

"Now while I'm taking Mr. Longbottom to the Hospital Wing, you will all keep your brooms firmly on the ground or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.'" With those ominous final words, she left with Neville under her arm.

The moment the two were out of sight, Draco began laughing, followed quickly by the rest of the Slytherins, though Lily Ann nudged Tracey, who quickly stopped at the look on her friend's face.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?" Draco guffawed.

Lily Ann would've had some sharp words for Draco had she not been beat to it by Pavarti Patil, who snapped, "Shut up, Malfoy."

At this, Lily Ann stopped listening, knowing there could be only one outcome when Gryffindors and Slytherins got at it. Her attention was riveted on Draco, whose own focus was at the spot where Neville had fallen to the earth. A greedy glint flashed across his face as he smirked.

Looking closely, Lily Ann saw the glint of something round in the grass, and she knew what was about to happen moments before it did.

"Draco, no!"

Ignoring Lily Ann's protests, Draco ran forward and picked up the small glass ball Neville had dropped. The next few moments were a blur for Lily Ann as she watched Harry defend Neville and, being the reckless, noble hero only Lily Ann knew him to be, jump onto a broom to chase after Draco.

Lily Ann screamed as Harry pushed hard off the ground and immediately seemed to be flying faster than an eagle at Draco. Lily Ann wasn't sure who she was angrier with at that moment; Draco for trying – and succeeding – in provoking her brother enough to make him to something that could get him killed, or Harry for starting this silly feud with Draco in the first place.

Suddenly Harry was diving at top speed towards the ground and Lily Ann's mind was made for her; she was going to kill Draco for killing her brother, and then she would resurrect Harry and kill him for being such a noble idiot.

Before Lily Ann was able to take this plan into action however, gasps and shrieks interrupter her thoughts as she saw Harry pulling hard out of his dive moments before the collision that surely would've killed him, his hand tightly clutching Neville's ball. Only then did Lily Ann realize that Draco had thrown it and Harry had somehow managed to catch the stupid things as he had pulled out of the dive.

The moment Harry touched down, the Gryffindors all began cheering, swarming him with their congratulations. Lily Ann on the other hand didn't feel like celebrating and simply threw herself at her brother when he got close enough, crying in relief.

"Harry, you _idiot!_ How could you do something so _stupid_!" she hissed, punctuating each sentence with a good smack to his head.

Harry held her awkwardly, only just realizing how is actions would've affected his sister. Before he could respond, sharp words caused both of them to jump.

"Harry Potter!"

Extracting himself from Lily Ann's arms, he turned to a shocked and furious Professor McGonagall.

"How _dare_ you – might have broken your neck –"

Had Daphne and Tracey not been there to hold her up, Lily Ann would have sunk to the ground as she went weak to the knees as she thought once again how lucky her brother had been. She felt as if she might be sick, and began hyperventilating from the shock of the whole ordeal.

Professor McGonagall turned to look at Lily Ann, "Miss Davis, Miss Greengrass, please escort Miss Potter to the Hospital Wing and tell Madam Pomfrey that she needs a nice Calming Draught." Turning back to Harry, who flinched as her features hardened once more, she said, "As for you, Mr. Potter, come with me."

* * *

Half an hour later in the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey was fussing over Lily Ann as she tried to insist that she was fine and did not need to stay the night.

"Nonsense, dearie. You've just had a great shock. If it were up to me, that brother of yours would be in the bed right next to yours. And," Madam Pomfrey added, waving her wand threateningly as Lily Ann once again tried to get out of the bed that she had been pushed into the moment she had arrived, "Don't you even think of leaving before you're cleared – which will only take longer if you don't cooperate."

Lily Ann turned to her friends, who stood awkwardly to the side. Tracey looked like she would like to stay, but Daphne looked as if she would rather be anywhere but there. Not seeing any way out of her predicament and doubting very much that she would be leaving anytime soon, Lily Ann rolled her eyes and said, "Go ahead without me guys. It's probably going to take a while."

"But…" Tracey started, but was cut off by Daphne, who was already pulling her away, not needing to be told twice and muttering something about dinner.

Lily Ann groaned and fell back onto the pillows of the bed. Not only was she missing dinner because she was stuck in here, she was missing prime time for the double murder of Draco and Harry for getting her stuck there in the first place.

"Lily?" came a timid voice from a bed a few down from her own.

When Lily Ann had entered the Hospital Wing fifteen minutes before, she had at first thought that it was empty, but she then realized that she was not alone. There on the bed nearest Madam Pomfrey's office, having just pushed himself to a sitting position was Neville, his arm now in a sling.

"What are you doing here?" His face suddenly contorted in worry. "You didn't fall off your broom too, did you?"

"No, I didn't fall off my broom. I actually never left the ground. But never mind that; how's your arm?" Lily Ann figured Neville didn't need to know quite yet about Draco and Harry fighting over his Remembrall.

Neville lifted his arm, displaying his sling.

"I recon it's almost fixed. Madam Pomfrey said there's always a couple of injuries during flying lessons, so she had stocked up on Skele-Gro. My arm felt awful for about twenty minutes – like splinters were being put into it or something – as it was fixing itself, but I think it's almost done now."

Neville blushed as he realized how much he had said, and quickly fell silent.

Lily Ann suddenly realized that he probably didn't talk much, and that this was probably the most he had said all day, and she immediately felt bad that she hadn't noticed this earlier. Granted she was in a completely different house and currently only shared Potions with him, but she had always prided herself in noticing things that others often missed. Still, second week wasn't too bad, and she had been around him enough when she went to talk with Fred and George that he felt comfortable calling her by her first name. That was more than some of the other Gryffindors, who still felt ashamed by the fact that a Potter was put into the house of the snakes.

"So what _are_ you doing here?" Neville interrupted her thoughts after a moment's silence. "If you never got to fly, how can you be stuck in here?"

Lily Ann shrugged noncommittally, "I shouldn't actually be here; I'd be better off –"

"Resting," Madam Pomfrey interjected firmly, returning from her office with a tall bottle and goblet in hand.

Rolling her eyes at Neville, Lily Ann turned to the midiwitch, "But I have been resting, Madam Pomfrey. For the last hour! Can't I leave when Neville's done?" Lily Ann asked, trying very hard to beg without begging.

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips disapprovingly. "Twenty-four minutes. And no you may not. Mr. Longbottom has been here for forty-two minutes and will remain for at least another thirty-six. He came in with a broken wrist while you, on the other hand, were hardly breathing."

"I'm breathing now, aren't I?"

"Not to mention," Madam Pomfrey added, ignoring Lily Ann's words all together, "Mr. Longbottom does not come from an accident prone family."

Lily Ann's eyebrows shot upward and Neville himself looked surprised. From what she had seen, Neville Longbottom was as accident prone as it was possible to be while she and Harry had yet to be hurt at all.

Madam Pomfrey continued on as she poured a generous amount of potion into the goblet, "It seems like there wasn't a week that went by that I didn't see Potter or one of his friends for something or another."

She pressed the goblet into Lily Ann's hands as Lily Ann perked up, excited. "You knew my dad?"

"Course I did. And your mum too. She was a fine witch, Lily. Sometimes she'd come in to help; now that I think about it, that could be why James was in here so often. Not that it did him any good; Lily couldn't stand to be in the same room as James. But you have to give him credit; he was persistent." Madam Pomfrey suddenly stopped and looked at the still full goblet in Lily Ann's hand. "Now no more talking until you finish every drop of that."

Madam Pomfrey then went over to Neville and after a few minutes of checking him over, dismissed him to return to his house.

Neville suddenly looked panicked, and as he passed Lily Ann, he whispered frantically, "I don't know what I'm going to do. I never can remember the password."

Lily Ann, quickly checking that Madam Pomfrey was still in her office, responded in a low voice, "It's 'pig snout.' Just think of Crabbe and Goyle's face – they're enough like pigs that it shouldn't be too much of a stretch."

Neville gaped at her and Lily Ann rolled her eyes. "I'm just as disgusted with their eating habits as the next person. They remind me of my cousin, except they actually _like_ magic, even if they can't do it very well."

"But how did you…" Lily Ann saw movement from the direction of Madam Pomfrey's office and quickly cut Neville off. "Harry tells me everything. Now go, before Madam Pomfrey finds an excuse to keep me here even longer." Pushing him out, Lily Ann quickly downed the contents of her goblet in three large gulps and cringed. The stuff was revolting.

"Could you tell me more about my mum? Aunt Petunia never talked about her much," Lily Ann asked the mediwitch as she took the goblet from her hand.

Madam Pomfrey's face softened as she thought of the sweet Lily Evans, "Of course dear. But," she added sternly, "Only if you will keep still! Goodness, child. You would think there were snakes in your bed."

And with that, the two of them began swapping stories, talking late into the night about Lily Evans and the many attempts of James Potter to woo her. They talked about the stories Madam Pomfrey knew from Lily Evans' childhood and of growing up in the Muggle world. And they talked about friends, including a particular boy in Slytherin, Severus Snape

* * *

The next morning, Lily Ann returned to her house in full spirits. She had learned more in the space of a few hours about her parents than she had her entire life on Privet Drive. Aunt Petunia would occasionally tell her a story about Lily as a child, but never once had mentioned her teenage years, let alone stories involving her father. Lily Ann hadn't even known her father's name until Hagrid had rescued them.

"Where were you? When you never came in last night, we thought something must've happened!" Tracey shrieked the moment Lily Ann entered the girls' dormitory.

Milicient looked irritated at the squealing girl and said as she left the room, "Stop over reacting, Davis. Madam Pomfrey obviously restrained her."

"It's obviously a Potter thing," Pansy added coldly as she followed.

Walking over to her trunk, Lily Ann asked, "What's up with Pansy, she's acting weird."

Daphne, who had just emerged from the showers, replied for Tracey nonchalantly, "She kind of hates you right now. Something about having no loyalty to the house."

Lily Ann frowned. She knew that Slytherin was the most introverted of the houses and rarely mingled with anyone else, but she didn't see why her loyalty to her brother should affect her relationships with her housemates.

Daphne cocked an eyebrow at Lily Ann and said dryly, "Don't look so surprised; she didn't like you much in the first place. She just doesn't like you even more now."

"What did I do?"

Lily Ann had no quarrel with Pansy, and while they weren't best friends, Lily Ann had thought they were on friendly terms.

"Other than exist, you mean? Officially, openly showing support for Harry over Draco. Unofficially, I think she's jealous that Draco likes you more than her."

"Nonsense!" Lily Ann protested, but Tracey interrupted.

"But it's not nonsense, Lily. _No one_ likes Pansy; it's only the matter of who her father is that keeps her at the top. Her father has convinced her that she will only have the best, and to her the best means Draco. She sees you as a threat to her future."

"But we're eleven!" Lily Ann exclaimed, exasperated. "I'm not even thinking of dating let alone marriage. Isn't it a bit early to be thinking about that?"

At that, both Tracey and Daphne looked at her incredulously and Daphne shook her head in a way that made Lily Ann feel like a child.

"Are you joking?" Daphne demanded.

Tracey added gently, before Daphne could get too excited, "Lily, we're purebloods. We've been told since the time we could walk who we could and couldn't be seen with."

"Well I guess I'm safe then. I'm half-blood and don't have to worry about it."

Despite her calm appearance, Lily Ann was reeling on the inside. How could she break down house barriers if everyone was stuck on blood purity – or vice versa? It was no wonder that no one really liked the Slytherins; they didn't let anyone like them in the first place.

Daphne, never one to step down without a fight, shook her head emphatically.

"Of course you do! You're Lily Ann Potter, one of the most famous witches in our world; anyone would make an exception for you. Your mother aside, the name of Potter is about as pureblooded as you can get."

Straightening her tie and glancing once in the mirror, Lily Ann replied simply, "I guess the difference between you and me, Daphne, is that I really don't care. Now I'm off to breakfast before the two of you can rope me into some marriage contract that I'm not even prepared to think about for at least three or four years."

With one last glance in the mirror and a toss of her hair, Lily Ann turned on her heel and left the room, leaving a stunned Daphne and a thoughtful Tracey in her wake.

* * *

Lily Ann walked into the Great hall and could instantly see the smug grin and excitement in Harry's face as she sat down at her own table, and therefore wasn't very surprised when Draco sat down with a fuming temper. What did surprise her, however, was when he turned and glared at her.

"What did you do?" he demanded in way of greeting.

Lily Ann blinked in surprise at the hostility behind the words. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily Ann could see Pansy smirking slightly and wondered if she might have something to do with the anger behind Draco's eyes.

After a moment's thought, she decided to test her hypothesis by using Daphne's reasoning, "You mean being concerned for the welfare of my own brother? I don't see anything wrong with that."

"So you admit it!" Pansy shrieked, leaping to her feet.

"I think anyone would be concerned after a stunt like that, no matter who is involved. We're all human here." Lily Ann retorted hotly.

Lily Ann really couldn't understand this world she had adopted as her own. In some ways, the wizarding world still lived in the dark ages. She didn't mind writing with quills or using lanterns and candles; she didn't even mind the lack of electricity or other modern commodities. What really irked her was the medieval way of thinking that she encountered wherever she turned.

"It was just a prank. It's not like anyone got hurt, or anything. Why'd you have to go and warn them?" Draco muttered irritably.

"You know very well that I didn't! I didn't even know about it before it was too late! And what do you mean no one got hurt; Neville broke his wrist and Harry could've died because of you!"

"Died? Aren't you exaggerating a bit, Lily?" Draco mocked. "All that could've happened is Potter receiving a detention along with the weasel. It's nothing to upset yourself over."

Frustrated with the entire conversation, Lily Ann threw her hands in the air. "I don't even see why you're bringing Ron into the picture; he's not even a part of this. And you're nothing but an insensitive toe rag and I want nothing to do with you!"

With those final words, Lily Ann stormed out of the Great Hall, leaving behind a mostly untouched breakfast, a bemused Draco, and a triumphant looking Pansy.

* * *

Moments after she stepped outside into the courtyard, Lily Ann felt, rather than saw, the presence of the Weasley twins on either side of her.

"That was quite the spectacle in there."

"Not that anyone noticed, or anything."

"We're just more observant than most people."

The twins threw their arms over Lily Ann's shoulders, making walking awkward as she was pulled in different directions by the two.

"Knock it off you guys, I'm not in the mood," Lily Ann muttered, pushing them away. The three stopped at the courtyard wall and taking a deep breath, Lily Ann started again.

"I appreciate you trying to help me feel better, but right now I just don't want to deal with people, okay?"

Fred looked at her curiously, "What caused that falling out with Malfoy, anyways?"

"Weren't you defending him just last week?"

"That was before he turned into my brother!" Lily Ann snapped, wishing the two would just leave her alone. "First Harry tells me I'm not allowed to be friends with Draco, and then Draco tells me I can't care about my brother!"

Fred and George had the decency to feel bad about their intrusion, and looked guiltily to the floor. "We're sorry," George said.

"We were just curious about all the tension at the Slytherin table. We should've known it had something to do with you and Harry."

Lily Ann leaned against the courtyard wall and let herself slide down, feeling the anger slowly ebbing away. "Sometimes, I just don't understand wizards." She said, letting out a frustrated sigh.

George couldn't help himself and smirked, "Well that's alright then. We generally don't understand witches; we're on even ground."

Lily Ann, too frustrated to get annoyed with the twins' antics, just put her face in her hands. "The wizarding world, Fred. I don't understand it. I thought things would be different coming into the wizarding world. It was going to be a place that would accept me for who and what I am. And I am, so long as who I am is a bigoted purist. Even muggles are better with that, at least on the surface. Wizards openly flaunt it with their pureblood status. It's no better than how the muggles acted during the Dark Ages with their royalty."

Lily Ann let out a sigh and looked up at the twins, who she was surprised to find were both smiling slightly.

"What?" She sighed tiredly, having released all her built up energy during her rant.

"Lily Ann, the thing is, that's not how actually how the wizarding world thinks. The reason that's what you think is because that's all you're seeing – that's all there is among the Slytherins. That's where the people who actually care tend to end up."

"Yea, look at us; we're dirt poor purebloods who don't give a knut about the 'purity' of your blood."

"Dad's even got this mad obsession with muggles to top everything off."

Lily Ann still looked doubtful, so they continued, "Look, every society has its problems; ever hear about those American muggles and that 'civil rights' movement, or whatever the hell they call it? It was brutal, from the sounds of it."

Lily Ann gave a small smile, "Who knew that the Weasley twins could be so serious about anything for so long?"

Fred simply put a finger to his lips, a smile barely concealed as he said, "Now don't tell anyone. It'll ruin our reputation."

"Besides," George added, his eyes twinkling. "I don't think that's what you were arguing about in there. From the sounds of it, you were arguing about a prank?"

"Care to let us in on it?"

At these words, Lily Ann felt her anger spike again, thinking about how insensitive her friends really could be.

"That," Lily Ann spat, "was no prank. Marcus Flint jinxed the broom Neville was on, intending to make a fool out of Harry. He could've killed someone, and Draco thinks it was just a laugh. He was going on about how the only thing that really could've happened was Harry and Ron getting detentions – the idiot!"

At that, both the twins began laughing hysterically.

"So _that's_ what that was really about!"

"Oh that is _gold_!"

Lily Ann glared at the two, which made them laugh harder. "It's not funny. Neville broke his wrist because of it."

Fred broke out of his laughter for just long enough to gasp out, "But it is! You were arguing over two completely different things!"

"And neither of you noticed!" George added with mirth.

The two roared with laughter, turning to leave. As a last minute thought, Fred threw over his shoulder, "Be sure to ask Harry about a duel."

"And don't let him skip over the part of the 'broom cupboard' he hid in."

"And tell him that we want a go on his new broomstick!"

And with that, the twins were gone, leaving behind the sounds of laughter and a very stunned Lily Ann.

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	7. The Snake and the Lion

**Disclaimer: If Harry Potter belonged to me, it would not be famous.**

Chapter 7: The Snake and the Lion

POV: Harry

Harry was having a great day. First off, he had really shown Malfoy what Gryffindors were made of, both by showing up to that faux duel and by escaping both Filtch and that three-headed dog, though Malfoy didn't need to know about the last one. Not to mention the fact that he, a first year, had succeeded in securing a spot on the Quidditch team on his first go on a broom. His delight was only furthered when the mail arrived and a large parcel was dropped in front of him with a note attached proclaiming it to be a Nimbus Two-Thousand.

Looking up at Ron, he grinned and was about to comment on how brilliant his day was going when he saw his sister throw her arms into the air and storm out of the Great Hall, Malfoy looking both frustrated and confused in her wake.

"Brilliant," Harry said. Could this day get any better?

"I know!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even _touched_ one. Can I have a go, Harry? After you of course."

"What? Oh, yea. Of course, mate," Harry stumbled over his words as he withdrew from his thoughts.

"So do you think we could go upstairs now to open it?" Ron asked eagerly. "I recon we have time before class starts."

Just then the clock chimed and Harry regretfully shook his head, "We have double Potions today. I really don't want to get on Snape's bad side by being late."

"Who cares what Snape thinks?" Ron asked, but relented that they could open the package during their break when they could actually fly it before Harry's first training with Oliver Wood.

As it turned out, Snape didn't need a reason to be angry with Harry. The class had hardly started when Harry, who was partnered with Lily Ann because she, to Harry's absolute delight, refused to work with Malfoy, lost points for talking too loudly ("I told you, Harry, there's nothing to get so excited about; it was just a misunderstanding.") and for deliberately sabotaging his own potion ("Getting spit into the cauldron is not going to help your grade, Harry.").

Even when Lily Ann wasn't buddying up with that snake, she still seemed to be able lecture him on being biased, and after the fifth time of her pointing out that not every wizard in Slytherin was bad ("What about Merlin, Harry? Do you think he was evil?"), Harry turned to his sister and snapped, "Just shut up, Lily. Merlin, you sound like Hermione sometimes."

Lily Ann narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "You know you could try being a bit nicer to her, you know. It can't be easy for her coming from a Muggle family into the Wizarding World without any friends. She's lucky her parents were even supportive of her."

Harry sighed, knowing what was coming next, "Lily, you can't relate everything back to the Dursleys."

Lily Ann bristled and immediately took the offensive, "I'm not. Our story is just the same as many other wizards; I'm facing the facts."

Harry wasn't convinced. She was being indoctrinated with all that Pureblood nonsense; the Dursley's aside, who wouldn't want magic in their lives?

Lily Ann broke through his thoughts and added, "Besides, that's not the point. Hermione could really use a friend, no matter who her parents are. At the very least you could be nicer to her."

At precisely that moment, Snape passed behind them, effectively cutting Harry's response short. Lily Ann turned away from him and started adding the next ingredients, completely ignoring the yelps of pain coming from Seamus' direction and Dean's swearing as he attempted to put out the fire that seemed to have consumed their cauldron. Any further conversation about the subject was quickly silenced with Lily Ann's step-by-step explanations of the proper way to brew various ingredients, something that she seemed to understand better than he did.

They continued in this fashion for the next five minutes, in which Lily Ann seemed to exhaust her knowledge of brewing spider legs (which she was now adding to their potion) and an awkward silence fell between the siblings.

"So," Harry said, after a minute of this, "What really is going on between you and Malfoy?"

Lily Ann cocked an eyebrow at him, "Really, Harry, I should be asking that of you. What's this I hear of a duel? If I find out that you started a duel with Draco because he's my friend, I swear that Merlin himself wouldn't be able to save you once I got through with you."

"What? I thought you of all people would know," Harry asked, surprised. At the glare shot his way, Harry quickly covered himself, "I mean, you're his friend; surely _Draco_ would've told you that he challenged me to a duel last night, or are you not…" The rest of his words were cut off by the crash of smashing glass as Lily Ann's eyes flashed in anger at the implied message.

"Potter!"

Snape came billowing towards them, eyes flashing angrily. Glistening in the firelight was the remains of the vial that Lily Ann had been measuring the essence of lacewing in. The slime was now splattered up both of their robes.

"Mr. Potter, how could you be so careless? That will be ten points from Gryffindor."

"But, sir!"

"Be grateful it's not more, Mr. Potter. I expect you to stay after to clean this mess you've created."

"But Professor, it wasn't…"

"You'd better get yourself cleaned up, Miss Potter. I will not stand for an unkempt appearance amongst the Slytherin house."

"But…"

"You are dismissed, Miss Potter."

POV: Lily Ann

Walking away from the classroom, Lily Ann could hear the buzz of excitement as class ended and couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. It the last class on a Friday afternoon and Harry wouldn't be able to enjoy it because she had let her emotions get away from her. The twins had said that Harry had gotten a new broomstick and, knowing her brother, he would be itching to try it out immediately.

"Hey, Lily Ann!" A voice called from behind her, interrupting her thoughts, "Wait up!"

Slowing her pace, Lily Ann turned to see Hermione Granger run to catch up to her. Hermione's bushy hair was still on end from the fumes of all the cauldrons and a slight pink tinged her cheeks.

"I just wanted to thank you for sticking up for me like that. No one's ever done that for me before; not even back in primary school.

Lily Ann shrugged, "I'm just tired of Harry forgetting that we're not the only ones who don't have a supportive family. Lots of problems can come from that and he seems to think that everyone else had the perfect life while we suffered in the dumps. Well, Harry got the brunt of it, but still."

Hermione smiled, "I agree with you on that, though I have to admit that I never would've thought that your family wasn't supportive of you. You're so good at magic that I thought that surely they were helping you in some way to get a head start before school started; my parents did the moment Professor McGonagall came to explain everything." As was Hermione's custom, she said all this very fast, as if she would run out of time to say all the things she wished to say.

Lily Ann smiled, slightly embarrassed, "I wouldn't say I'm that good at magic; from what I hear, _you're_ good at everything."

And with that, the two of them went off talking about classes, culture change and magic. Neither of them knew it, but this would mark the first time that a Slytherin became best friends with a Gryffindor since Lily Potter and Severus Snape.

* * *

Having Hermione as a friend was one of the best things that had happened to Lily Ann since she had arrived at Hogwarts. While Hermione was slightly anal in regards to homework, not to mention rules, the two of them had many of the same interests, both having been raised in the muggle world. There was also the added bonus that Hermione, being a muggleborn, would never have that ridiculous Blood Purity ingrained in her, making for a refreshing change. Whenever Lily Ann found the medieval thinking of the Slytherins to be too stifling, Lily Ann would make her way to the library, the most likely location to find Hermione at any given moment.

But several weeks after the two of them had become friends, Lily Ann was having difficulty finding Hermione. She wasn't in the library and, according to Madame Pince, hadn't been seen there since the day before. She wasn't waiting outside the staffroom, a habit she had picked up since their very first test when she thought she had missed question twenty-seven b about correct spell pronunciation, and she wasn't in the Great Hall for lunch. In fact, when Lily Ann interrogated Neville after her afternoon classes, the last time Hermione had been seen at all was right after charms class earlier that morning.

"I didn't see why," Neville added as Lily Ann turned away from the Fat Lady's portrait that Neville was leaning out of, "But she looked really upset. Do you think you could convince her to come to the feast? She's the only one who will sit next to me and I don't want to sit alone during the Halloween feast; I hear Fred and George are planning something big this year."

With that knowledge, Lily Ann left, having a fair idea where she could find Hermione. Where other girls would dramatically storm away to their dorms and make a general scene when they were upset, Hermione was never one to call attention to herself and always kept her head held high. She was a proud girl, and Lily Ann knew that something must've shaken her pride today badly enough that she would've fled to the one place that no one would be able to see her lose her composure: Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Upon arrival, the first thing Lily Ann noticed was the absence of Myrtle, which meant that either Hermione had annoyed Myrtle enough with her own tears that she flown down the toilet, or that the Ravenclaw Head Boy was in the prefects' bathroom.

"Hermione?" Lily Ann called, creeping in through the doors, "Hermione, I know you're in here!"

For a moment, the only sound was that of the dripping pipes and then came the muffled response, "Go away!"

Becoming further determined to get to the root of all this, Lily Ann inched towards the stall from which Hermione's voice had come, and gently teasing asked, "Is that how you treat your best friend?"

A slight click came from the stall as Hermione unlocked the door at her words. Her eyes were red from tears and her bottom lip quivered as she whispered, "I don't have any friends." She then threw herself into Lily Ann's arms as she began sobbing again.

Lily Ann was shocked. Never had Hermione even once hinted that she was unhappy at Hogwarts or even that she wasn't making any other friends in her house. Lily Ann mentally berated herself. She should have seen it in the way she only ever studied alone and ate meals at the speed of light, but Lily Ann had just assumed that that was just how Hermione was and left it at that.

Not knowing what else to do, Lily Ann squeezed Hermione tight and said, "Sure you do – you've got me, don't you? And what about Neville? Whoever gave you such an idea?"

Sniffling, Hermione rubbed her eyes to clear them of tears and slid down the wall, "Ronald. After charms, I overheard him talking to Harry about me. He called me an insufferable know it all… he said that it was no wonder that you were my only friend." She stopped and laughed through her sob, "And he was right, wasn't he? You are my only friend, and you're friends with everyone."

Lily Ann blinked in surprise, "Not everyone."

"Everyone who wants to be. And you're loyal to each and every one of them. I heard how you stood up for that Hufflepuff girl when Stephen Cornfoot called her fat, and how Wayne Hopkins ended up in the Hospital Wing."

Lily Ann tried to protest, but found herself being interrupted by Hermione. "You're my best friend, Lily, and I'm glad you are. I never thought I could ever have a best friend. I guess what is really getting me down is that I haven't heard from my parents for weeks because it's so hard for them to get an owl. I was already feeling pretty down when I heard Ron, and I guess it just really struck home how alone I am."

Lily Ann sat down next to Hermione and gave her a quick hug, "You're not alone, Hermione. I'm right here whenever you need me. And if Ronald ever gives you any trouble, just come to me. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve that will make him wish that you were _his_ best friend. As for your parents, I'll just send Twilight down that way every now and then; he's got nothing better to do. I have no one to write to – don't know what Hagrid was thinking when he got me that owl – and he'd love it. It'll make him feel important.

Hermione have her a watery smile and said, "Thanks, Lily. You're the best."

"I know," Lily Ann smiled. "Now let's get you cleaned up before we head down to the feast. Neville wants you to sit with him; he's the one who told me you'd been missing all day."

Hermione suddenly looked horror-struck. "I've missed all day? Oh, no! Professor McGonagall said that today would be particularly important! I'll bet everything we learned today will be on the final exam! Oh, no, I'm going to fail everything!"

Because Hermione looked about to bolt to find the nearest teacher, Lily Ann put a calming hand on her shoulder to stay her.

"Calm down, Hermione; you'll be fine. I'm sure that Professor… what was that?"

Coming from directly outside the door, the pair could hear low grunting noises along with a steadily growing grating sound, as if something very heavy were being dragged across the floor. As the noise grew louder, the door seemed to emit an unworldly stench that made both of them gag.

Pressing their ears to the door to better listen, Lily Ann whispered again, "What is that?"

Listening for a moment, Hermione paled and whispered, "I have a theory… but it's mad." She paused a moment as she listened further, "I mean, who in their right minds would let a… move!"

Hermione dove at Lily Ann, pushing her out of the way of the door moments before it burst open with a loud, hollow bang. In its place swung a very large, knobbly club, and holding onto that club was a…

"Hermione?" Lily Ann whispered, wide eyed. "In the wizarding world, is there such thing as a…"

"Troll." Hermione breathed.

The troll was enormous. And though Lily Ann had never met a giant, she felt that if she did, it would probably smell better than this thing did; she was feeling a bit woozy just standing there. Judging by Hermione's watering eyes, she was fairing no better. Its grey skin and trousers were filthy, and the little hair that was on its head looked as if a bottle of oil had been dumped all over it, though there was so little that one could almost say that he was bald.

Both girls looked on in horror as the creature journeyed further into the bathroom, effectively pushing them further back and away from the only exit.

"Hermione, now would be the time for some of your brilliant wand work," Lily Ann hissed out of the corner of her mouth, barely moving her lips as they slowly moved towards the back.

But Hermione shook her head, eyes wide, revealing her open hands. She didn't have her wand. Lily Ann frantically searched her own robes for her wand and remembered that she had left it on her bed with her bags when she went looking for Hermione.

The troll swung his club clumsily at them, missing them completely but hitting the stalls to their left. Hermione screamed as splinters went flying everywhere and Lily Ann ducked and covered her face as another stall exploded under the force of the club.

At the point where there was literally nowhere left to run, Lily Ann heard a voice coming from behind the troll, "Oy, pea-brain!"

* * *

"Where have you been?" Were the first words Lily Ann heard as she walked into the common room.

Blaise smirked and nudged Draco, "Malfoy here thought you had gotten eaten by the troll."

Lily Ann laughed nervously, "Well…"

* * *

POV: The Dark Lord

The Dark Lord was angry, very angry, and the only person in the world who knew about it was the pathetic, weak half-blood Quirinus Quirrell. While it truly would have been poetic justice for his triumphant return to be on the anniversary of his fall, the execution of it was lacking the brilliance promised by the Ravenclaw. This only further proved to the Dark Lord what he had known for so long: Brilliance didn't come from book smarts and wit, but from the cunning desire of those worthy of it.

Quirrell had thought he was so clever, letting in the troll to distract the staff from the third floor. But even Snape had seen through that ruse and reached the third floor before they had. At least with that mistake the traitorous bat had proven his value by revealing for them the first defense for the Stone was.

And the troll itself proved to be ineffective as well. Not only did it fail as a distraction, it failed to crush the Potter brats who had made him into the parasite that he was. All of these failures led to a very displeased Lord and meant suffering for all. Soon enough that would be the Potter brats, but for now, he would have to settle for the tormenting of his puppet. He was due for a little... incentive.

 **A/N: Well guys, what did you think? Now that Hermione and Lily Ann are friends, Lily can go anywhere without just being the tagalong sister. But can also get out of it by being with her other friends.**

 **Any suggestions?**

 **Until next time, I'm HiddenReaderNinja.**


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